Background

To attract high-net-worth investors to invest in Hong Kong and boost the city’s economic development, The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (The Scheme) was launched by the Government of the Hong Kong SAR on 1 March 2024. The Scheme aims to attract asset owners to settle in Hong Kong and explore its diverse investment opportunities through wealth allocation and management. Once the applicant has met the Portfolio Maintenance Requirements and maintained continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong for a period of seven years, they and their dependants are entitled to apply to become permanent residents of Hong Kong or obtain unconditional stay (which permits entry and stay in Hong Kong without being subject to any conditions or limit of stay) .

New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

1. Eligibility Criteria
   • Aged 18 or above at the time of applying for Net Asset Assessment;
   • Have no adverse immigration record and meet the normal immigration and security requirements;
   • Be capable of supporting and accommodating himself and his dependants, if any, on his own;
   • Has net assets or net equity (including the respective portion of jointly-owned assets or equity with the Applicant’s family member(s)¹ to which the Applicant is absolutely beneficially entitled) to which he is absolutely beneficially entitled with a Market value of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) throughout the six months preceding the date he lodged his application for Net Asset Assessment of the Scheme;
   • Make investment of not less HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) in the permissible investment assets to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled.
2. Scope of the scheme
   An Applicant must fall into one of the following categories covered by the Scheme:
   • foreign nationals²;
   • Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country;
   • Macao Special Administrative Region residents; and
   • Chinese residents of Taiwan.
3. Permissible Assets
   Applicant under the Scheme is required to place HK$3 million into a new CIES IP. And they are required to invest a minimum of HK$27 million in any of the following Permissible investment Assets:
   • Equities;
   • Debt securities;
   • Certificates of deposits(subject to a cap of HK$3 million);
   • Subordinated debt;
   • Eligible collective investment schemes;
   • Ownership interest in limited partnership funds registered under the Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance(subject to a cap of HK$10 million); and
   • Real estate(include non-residential estate and residential estate, the total investment amount in real estate is counted towards the fulfillment of minimum investment threshold is subject to an aggregate cap of HK$15 million, of which the investment threshold is subject to an aggregate capped at HK$10 million).
4. Portfolio Maintenance Requirements
   An Applicant must deposit the Applicant’s permissible financial assets into a designated account(s) operated by eligible financial intermediary(ies), and use the designated account exclusively for the transaction of permissible financial assets and must not reduce the committed investment while permitted to stay in Hong Kong under the Scheme.
   
   If the Applicant disposes of or realizes the value of the permissible financial assets, applicant needs to reinvest not less than the entire market value in Permissible Investment Assets by the specified deadline.
   
   The content on this webpage is sourced from the following website of the Invest Hong Kong and the Immigration Department. For details of the Scheme, please refer to the latest exhaustive information provided by Invest Hong Kong and the Immigration Department, which may be updated from time to time:
   https://www.newcies.gov.hk/en/
   www.immd.gov.hk